Educator to discuss home-schooling options for parents

By Meredith Moriak | mmoriak@mrt.com

Published 6:23 am, Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Midlanders interested in learning more about curriculum selection and the time and financial commitments of home-schooling are invited to attend a free seminar Saturday at the Midland County Public Library’s Centennial branch.

Shari Nelson, a longtime home-school educator and co-founder of the Christian Educators Resource Center in East Dallas, will share insight and wisdom she’s gained during the past 17 years home-schooling her four children.

In addition to discussing the purpose of home-schooling and encouraging families to identify their mission for choosing this educational method, Nelson will outline different curriculums available and explain the varying philosophies of each one.

“Some curriculums are very teacher-intensive and require a lot of planning and time for the mom, while others are very student-driven, where they teach themselves and there are only answer keys, no teacher guides,” Nelson said.

Nelson initially selected a Christian-based curriculum because it met the needs of her entire family. But as her children grew and developed varying learning styles, Nelson changed curriculums, finding what best fit each child’s needs. Today, she uses curriculum from a different publisher for each subject.

“If your goal is to educate your children, then it is your responsibility to make sure they are getting it. If they aren’t, then you have to change the delivery method. If my kids take a test and fail it, we go back and learn it. You can’t keep plowing forward if they are not gaining an understanding,” Nelson said, noting that she looks for mastery of each subject before moving on. She considers flexibility the most important trait for any home-schooling parent.

Though home-schooling may look different for each family, Nelson said it is a full-time job and it is rare to see students thrive when they aren’t supervised because their parents work full-time.

“Even though my high school kids are self-taught in a lot of subjects, they still need supervision. Home-schooling is a non-paying, full-time job,” Nelson said.

The reasons for home-schooling vary from family to family — some are looking to escape bullying; others are interested in more individualized attention or a flexible schedule. But Nelson believes any parent can be successful as long as they put their child’s education first.

“You love your kid more than anyone else could and you’re going to do the very best for them,” Nelson said. “There are some families that haven’t done the very best and have chosen (home-schooling) to be convenient for them and not to educate their children, but that’s probably 1 percent. If you are going to choose home-schooling, you are out to accomplish something grand for them.”

Nelson will discuss lesson planning and organization during Saturday’s seminar and provide tips on what information home-school teachers should keep year-over-year and what can be thrown away.

A general session on home-schooling will take place from 10 a.m. to noon and a high school-specific session will occur from noon to 1 p.m. Seminar space is limited, and those interested in attending should reserve their spot by emailing Shari Nelson at gregnshari@verizon.net.